Chapter 6 - Warning for the Storm

"Trace On." I muttered.

Judging the concept of creation

Blue energy started to burst out from my palms, blazing and swirling like a wild flame that was uncontrollable.

Hypothesizing the basic structure

The wild and untamed blue aura paused for moment as if the time around it stopped, then it resumed and began to expand, taking the shape of a blazing blue longsword.

Duplicating the composition material

The color of steel began to morph around it, the blueish and gas-like aura slowly becoming almost solid and it could be gripped now.

Imitating the skill of its making

Holy and light element began to pour into it as I felt my energy being drained, the energy it took was quite massive. However, unlike EMIYA's world, here the mana flowed in the air like snow during Christmas. So it was not a big problem to me, not to mention my own reserves were larger thanks to the Class-card. I could create dozens of swords without being tired, though I only could shoot up to thirty for now.

Sympathizing with the experience of its growth

Roland... The famous Paladin and leader of the Twelve Peers. A sword that was granted to him by an angel and splendidly forged, much like Caliburn. It proved almost to be indestructible, seeing how Roland's wish to destroy it on the verge of his death to keep it from falling into enemy hands ended in failure.

Reproducing the accumulated years, complete

Excelling every manufacturing process, complete

The blueish flames in my hand slowly formed and were about to take the shape of the famous holy sword Durandal. However, before it was completed, I injected prana and used Reinforcement on it.

Keep the energy stable, recreate the shape, alter the usage and-

My eyes widened when I noticed the energy becoming unstable, the beautiful blue flames in the shape of sword began to wriggle and wave almost like tentacles!

Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!

Instantly I made the hilt of the sword solid, grasping it I quickly and throwing the sword towards the sky strongly, and I mean it really strongly. I even reinforced my arm and the result was that the unstable sword soared up with incredible speed and-

BOOOOOOOM!

A blue and yellow explosion of around 300m immediately appeared and destroyed everything. It did not burn, but it annihilated, it eradicated everything it touched, turning it into nothing but ashes.

The radiation shockwave could be felt for over 2 kilometers. The violent gust of wind struck me, it felt like a hurricane was launched at me and I reinforced myself. However, even that proved still not enough as I was blown away.

I crashed into one building,. I'm sure of that, then I crashed into another, another one, another one, yet another one, aaand another one.

As quickly as the explosion appeared, as quickly it was gone. The raging blue torrents of destruction existed no longer than 7 seconds before they vanished. The temperature also returned to normal as if nothing had been there to begin with.

I let out a groan of pain. My back, it hurt! It fucking hurt damnit! Ever since my Class-card had awakened, this was the first time I was really wounded. Fresh blood was dripping from my mouth and forehead as I pushed myself to slowly stand.

As I stood, I began to look at my surroundings. Buildings had been blasted apart like a stone had been tossed into a pool. Trees and anything else that was solid were nowhere to be seen as if they had just been eaten by a monster. The ground had turned into large crater, as if a giant had just stomped on it.

I stared at the destruction that had just appeared with sweat dripping from my forehead while panting due to the pain of my body. If I had been in the middle of that explosion I would have died, heck! Not even Maou-level creatures would have survived it, seeing the amount of the holy and light element that had been inside that explosion!

"That blast would have been felt by any supernatural entity... Such power would make their radars go off like crazy."

I turned and saw Zelretch, who was walking towards me. He approached me comletely nonchalantly, as if he owned the world and there had not just been a deathly explosion a few seconds ago.

"But they didn't, thanks to my awesomeness, boy!" He declared smugly, making me roll my eyes.

It was just another normal day where I went to train by myself. However, unlike the previous training, I started to take an advanced level of training. A few days ago I spent all my training days to improve my Tracing time and also to make sure the swords I created were stronger, better and also completely like the originals.

Now before you ask, yes I could create original swords that I traced, however, the time I needed for that was quite long. So I decided to train in order to get a better grasp of it.

And after a few days I was able to use Reinforcement, Alteration and Projection without problems. Seeing how I was done with those three, I tried the next level.

But let me tell you, dear God it was hard!

I tried to alter Durandal and turned it into a similar weapon like Caladbolg, but it was more than difficult. And yes, I could project Caladbolg and turn it into a projectile weapon.

Then why was I having a hard time to use it on Durandal?

Let's keep it simple. I had EMIYA's skills, his memories and his experience in battle. However, all of this was like a book, it was knowledge that I needed to read first before I could apply it.

Some of the knowledge was easy and I could already use it. Altering Caladbolg was among this, apparently it was also EMIYA's favorite, so the way how to alter it and how to project it was already there and I only needed to follow it.

But Durandal? No. Let me tell you something, Unlimited Blade Works was not like the Gate of Babylon. It was not a limitless place filled to the brim with Noble Phantasms.

It was a place that was filled with swords, a world of infinite swords – and that was it. Those swords were mostly E or D ranked Noble Phantasms, if at all. There were C-ranked ones too, but only a few that could be considered as B-rank or A-rank.

Durandal was one of them, apparently he copied this sword when he was fighting with Gilgamesh. However, it was not used often because it took a damn lot of prana, not to mention it was considered a divine construct, something that made it harder to trace and create in his world, seeing Gaia had a strong influence there.

Caladbolg meanwhile was not a divine construct sword. You could say it might be one of the strongest weapons he could trace. There were Hrunting, Gáe Bolg, and the other too of course, but my point was clear.

So when I tried to alter Durandal, I used the same way I did to Caladbolg, but God, it was hard! Harder than I thought! It seemed the material of Durandal was... wilder than Caladbolg, resulting in the explosion of before when I tried to alter it.

The place where I was training now was something that Zelretch called an artificial dimension. He said it was made with the same basic and structure of the arenas used in the Rating Games of the devils. If I recalled correctly, it was a game between devils, a simulation fight that used their peerage. This place was based on Kuoh Town. It was not as big as the town, only half of it, but was good enough for me to train.

"Yeah, thank you for that, almighty Zelretch." I said with a sarcastic smirk.

"Such behavior! You should be grateful for what I did, boy! If not for me, then the Church or an Archangel might already have approached you and you could already be dissected due to creating a sword that was filled with as much divine energy as that." Zelretch chided me, making me grimace at the mental image of his words.

"Okay, that's terrifying I admit." I murmured. "But aren't Archangels supposed to be nice?" I asked.

"They are nice, but the Church is not." Zelretch pointed out and I let out a sigh.

Why was I not surprised. Seeing what they did to Asia... That girl was really as gentle as an angel, and they had the nerve to accuse her of being a witch? What had made the people of the Church accuse her?

What had happened to her was wrong. So wrong... There was something amiss about it. Given her status as a Holy Maiden, surely a few cardinals of the Church should have supported her. And there was God too, there was no way he would have abandoned her! The God of the Bible was very famous for his love of humans!

And here was a girl who pleaded, was even exiled as she kept praying and praising God's name, but he didn't do jack-shit.

There was something that was very wrong here...

It was as if... There was no God... But that was impossible, devils and fallen angels clearly existed. Sacred Gears were gifts from God to humans, free Noble Phantasms for them so they were able to take care of themselves.

That was more than enough to prove God actually existed...

...

...

Except... No... It was absurd... It was absolutely impossible but...

"Zelretch..." I called, my voice solemn.

"What is it, boy?" Zelretch asked me, even upon hearing my tone was solemn, his face remained nonchalant.

"In the last Great War over a thousand yearss ago... Did... Did the God of the Bible die?" I asked. The question that came from my mouth was hard to believe now that I spoke it aloud. But that was the only things I could conclude, there was no way God would be cruel enough to leave a girl like Asia alone! The girl who kept praying even after being abandoned and accused as a witch, the girl who was always trying to help and cheering people on.

There might be gods who were cruel enough, but it was clearly not the God of the Bible. I was sure of that.

And my disbelief and question were answered when Zelretch spoke up in a 'You finally figured it out!' tone. "You realized it, eh? Quite fast actually..." Zelretch said, not even bothering to hide the secret and I felt my blood freeze.

So it was true... The God of the Bible was dead! But! But!

"H-How?" I stammered out, shock clear on my face "He! He is God!" I yelled in disbelief.

"Death will claim everyone, boy. Even if you are God." Zelretch told me with a grave tone. "It was unavoidable, all who live will die in the end. Surely you had heard the tale of gods being slain by mortals, right? You can believe those but you can't believe this one?"

"That's not the point!" I snapped at him. "He isn't just a god like Odin or Zeus but the God that was believed to have created humans in the first place! The God that created the world! The God that gave birth to the archangels and Satan! How can such a powerful God die?! What kind of monster could kill him?!" I almost shouted when I reached the last part. This was not like with gods like Hades, Poseidon, Zeus or Odin. I heard stories about how they were born and also wounded. Odin having lost one his eyes was proof that gods of their level could be harmed.

But the God of the Bible? Nothing! There was no story of him being born, which meant he fell in the category of primordial gods! A group of gods who were said to be creators and also death at the same time.

So how the hell was he dead?!

Zelretch's only answer to my outburst was silence, his face still nonchalant and blank. The emotion he showed was like 'So? I don't give any shit.' For a moment I was really tempted to create Durandal again and make it explode again, only this time I would throw it in his face so I could get rid of that damn blank face! Really! This old man was the biggest troll I had ever met!

"A monster that was stronger than God." Zelretch simply spoke. "You must know, the God of the Bible might have been incredibly strong, but he was not the strongest. There are a few entities that are stronger than him..."

"And who are these entities?" I asked while narrowing my eyes.

"I won't tell you the names, you will find out eventually. Ask Ddraig, he knew two already." Zelretch told me while pointing at my arm and I turned to my arm that held the Boosted Gear.

The backhand of my right hand slowly started to flash with a green aura, indicating Ddraig was there.

[Great Red, the Dragon of the Apocalypse and Ophis, the Dragon God.] Ddraig told me the names of the two beings Zelretch had mentioned.

The Dragon of the Apocalypse and the Dragon God... Those titles sounded like... Overlord level? Yeah, too much overlord or something like that

[Those titles are not a bluff, hatchling. Great Red really is the Dragon of the Apocalypse and Ophis itself is the god of dragons. Those two are the Strongest Being and Ultimate Existence.]

Okay then... Let's keep it easy. If you fight against the God of the Bible, who is going to win?

[There is a chance we might tie, but it's not something I would bet on... If Albion and I were working together there would be no way he could kill us both at the same time, even if he had help from the fallen angels and devils that would still be absurd. But alone... As much I hate to admit it, the God of the Bible is probably stronger than me.] Ddraig answered in a reluctant tone, it was clear there was distaste in his voice.

Okaay... Then how about you against Ophis or Great Red?

[... ... ... There wouldn't be any fight. They would crush me...]

Hearing that made me feel shocked, I never imagined Ddraig, the Dragon Emperor, a dragon who was placed as one of top among dragons would say that! That declaration was too much! Even if he was chained and shackled, he still had his pride! And to openly admit it like that...

[Hatchling, let me tell you. A third of Ophis or Great Red's power is already enough to beat me and Albion at the same time. Now imagine if they were at full power, it's like facing six of us at the same time – and there is two beings like that. And we are already powerful, only few could challenge us in our prime.]

The tone Ddraig used was grave and grim. It was clear he accepted it completely in his heart that he was no match against Great Red or Ophis, even if he were in his prime he'd still be nothing compared to those two.

It actually installed fear inside me. Ddraig was scary, frightening and very strong. I had met him directly during our meditation and let me tell you, Ddraig was powerful. So far I was never affected by any killing intent or overwhelming aura because I had already adapted to Ddraig's presence inside me.

I was aware what kind of monster he was, no matter how damn kind and soft he was now. In the past he was a monster, a flame that razed everything that stood in his way to the ground by simply breathing. If I had met him when he not sealed and shackled I was sure I would have trembled in fear.

That was how terrifying Ddraig was, even with EMIYA's experience I didn't think I would be ready when facing him. But to hear him admit so openly that there were two existences that surpassed Ddraig, that he was nothing but an infant compared to them...

This world is a really big place...

"So... The one who killed the God of the Bible, was it one of those two? Great Red or Ophis?" I asked and I heard Ddraig snort from within my palm.

[The God of the Bible was powerful, I'm sure Great Red and Ophis would acknowledge that at least. However, those two are just too powerful, they are almost like kings who rule the world. And would a king that big to care if one of his normal generals was fighting? Of course not. Those two don't care about any faction since they are too powerful.] Ddraig told me while laughing as if my question before was a joke.

I fell silent after hearing that for a moment. So they were superior beings who considered themselves that strong, eh? Like a human that didn't even look at the ground around him when walking.

But if such a strong beast appeared and killed God during the Great War, shouldn't it gather attention? I mean Heaven, Hell and the Grigori wouldn't stay silent after seeing a beast that could kill the god of their faction.

At least one of them would make a move, join with it or at least try to kill it. Which meant...

"There must be a connection between the thing that killed God and the factions..." I muttered and Zelretch narrowed his eyes at me "I mean, the different factions must have known that God died. But they didn't ally with it, and how could they kill it if it killed their creator. So... there must be more to this story than God getting killed by a mysterious being."

My guess were cut off by a bark of laughter that explode from Zelretch's mouth, he seemed really amused from hearing my guess.

"You are quite sharp, eh? Perhaps I'm giving you too many clues so you could figure it out, but meh." Zelretch shrugged and I took it as confirmation.

But why? Why did the God of the Bible fight such a beast? Especially if this happened in the middle of the war between the different factions of the Christian mythology. I would have to think more about this later.

But speaking of God...

"Asia must not find out." I said grimly. I couldn't imagine how crushed she would be if she found out God was dead. She, who had so much faith in God ever since she was a child, praying to him all the time, healing and helping in his name, devoted herself to him to the point of blaming herself due to being exiled...

"She will find out sooner or later, boy." Zelretch told me with tone that said 'it's useless.'

"What do you mean by that?" I asked. "Don't tell me you-"

"No, I won't tell her, but she will find out soon. Let me tell you, boy, your mastery is not that high. You could actually kill yourself if you made one wrong move. But I still agreed to let you do more advanced arts even with incomplete training." Zelretch told me with a neutral face and I scowled.

What he said was not wrong. I could use those three spells without a problem if I wanted, but I hadn't mastered them yet. But I figured it was enough for now and tried more advanced training. To put it in simple terms, I could do those three without problem and it was enough. True, I could still improve them, but I chose to abandon it for now.

"And with a basis that's only standard or one level above it, why you think I agreed to help you train when you have yet to master Reinforcement, Alteration and Projection?" Zelretch continued to talk while putting on an impassive face and his red eyes narrowed.

I fell silent at that. The first thing I wanted to blurt out was 'because you don't give a shit?' but I held back. There was something about the atmosphere here that made me hesitate to be kidding or sarcastic.

"A storm is coming Issei..." Zelretch said, his face and voice were grim. It was rare for him to show an expression like that, normally he only showed an 'I don't give a shit' face or laughed his ass off. " Normally I wouldn't do anything. To be honest, what you were thinking is true. I don't give a shit. You must know I'm not your protector, Issei. Putting it in a harsh way, I'm only a professor who finds you interesting and wishes to see how far you can go. I helped you this time because you are still new to all of this. If you die too soon, it won't be interesting anymore." He told me with a sigh at the end, as if talking to a petulant brat.

Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg... I knew this man... From EMIYA's memories I had finally found out who and what this man was. How the Second Magic worked and how troublesome he was. He was not a bad guy, but he was also not a good guy. This man was... Chaotic Neutral... A person who did whatever he wished and even could appear insane, but actually he was not. Someone like him was a person who you didn't want to make enemy or ask for help since he was too free-spirited and didn't even care about the people around him.

But this man was also not a bad guy. What he did in his world before when he killed Crimson Moon was quite heroic, even if he said he did it simply because he disliked the being. I had no doubt that if he died he could become a Heroic Spirit due to his deeds in the past.

But I didn't want to think about that... What made me pay more intention was the thing he had just said.

A storm was coming...

A big fight was coming...

I didn't doubt his words, not one bit. I sure as hell believed it was true, seeing his tone and expression. A storm was coming and it would be a big one.

And my current strength was not enough for it. He even said I would die and he didn't want it to happen too soon. That was why he was helping me now. Normally he'd only give me this place and leave an item behind so I could study by myself, but now he was guiding me.

"A storm is coming... And God's death will be revealed, huh?" I muttered. It was logical actually that the factions had kept it secret. It was easy to imagine what would happen if humanity found out that the God of the Bible was dead. There would be massive chaos, the God of the Bible was the biggest figure and the most famous one on this planet after all.

But what was the connection to Asia being exiled? Perhaps... her Sacred Gear got a bug due to the death of God and the original Maou? That was a big possibility, seeing how they were light and darkness in the bible faction system, and when both died the balance disappeared.

And due to the fear of people getting suspicious about the death of God she got exiled. That was why even Heaven didn't try to help her. It was not because they couldn't, but because it would be suspicious. Sacred Gear were called sacred for a reason. They were a gift from God to humanity so we could defend ourselves, to be strong enough to protect the people around us or even leading our kin.

In the world's view, devils were vile and evil creatures. One of the reasons why God created Sacred Gears was so that humanity could protect themselves just in case the devils struck them out of blue.

And if it was discovered to be able to heal a vile creature like a devil while the user's heart was pure, then...

[I think it would better if you focused on your main objective first.]

Ddraig?

[I don't understand what she actually felt. Devotion and faith to God is foolish for us dragons. Even if we have our own god, I never bowed down or prayed to it. However, I know one thing. If you tell her now, just when she went through this event, it will cause more bad than good. Let her enjoy herself for a moment and after that, you can decide by yourself whether you will tell her or not.] Ddraig explained to me while at same time also giving me his opinion. [Right now we have a storm coming, isn't it better if you focus on becoming stronger first? Master your abilities, then you can try to use my power afterwards. I'm getting bored only watching and doing nothing.]

You are right... Whether Asia should know or not can be discussed later. For now...

"Old Man." I called to Zelretch who had been silent.

"Huh? What is it?"

"This dimension... How durable is it?"

Zelretch stared at me for few seconds before he exploded into laughter as if I just askedfor the result of one plus one.

"You don't need to worry about that, boy! Just go all out! Try that explosion once again! I am also going to help a little."

"You will?"

"Of course! I promised to give you hand this once, right? I will, so let's do this again."

I only stared at him with an impassive face at first. Then a smirk adorned my face and I was pretty damn sure it looked similar to EMIYA's smirk.

"Let's start again then. Trace On!"

--------------------------------------------------

"Issei-san..." Asia called me, her eyes filled with worry as she stared at me with her cute green eyes. "A-Are you okay?"

No, I was not. The last few days had been very tiring for me. I had to reschedule all my activities, from going to school and visiting Shizune's place to staying at home so my parents didn't get suspicious.

It might not sound like much, but what really drained me was Zelretch's training. Seriously, I almost felt dead or couldn't wake up anymore every time my training session with him was done. That guy was a slave driver! And he was also a sadist since he laughed his ass off when he saw me suffering.

However, thanks to the harsh training I was getting clear results that were very satisfying. I could make a Broken Phantasm without having a hard time, and although I still needed time to create one at least, at least it wouldn't blow up anymore like Durandal did. Seriously, that scared the hell out of me. Never had I felt I as close to the death as back then.

I mean, I faced a 300m wide sphere of destruction with an effective radius that probably reached 2 kilometers! Luckily my throw had been strong enough to send it 650m above. If it had been 500m or less... I probably would have gotten worse wounds, and thanks to Asia's healing what I got wasn't too bad.

"You overdid it again with Zelretch-san, didn't you?"

It seemed my silence made Asia realize it already. Yeah, Asia already met the old guy. I didn't know why, but that old bastard acted like grandfather to her! Heck! He even bought two apartments that were combined into one just for her and Mittelt in this city since Asia wanted to learn more about Japan! He absolutely turned 180°! It was not like I was jealous or anything like that, but that guy would even treat me in the same manner!

When he was in front of Asia.

And when Asia was gone that old guy turned into his usual bastard self! When I asked him why he did that he said because he wanted to troll me and to make me try to convince Asia he was actually an ass!

Fucking vampire, I was so going to shove a Broken Durandal into him!

"Yeah... You could say so." I said while grimacing a bit when both of my arms ached due to overusing Tracing. And I would need to use it again for training tonight.

"That old gruff. Where the hell did you meet him? For vampire he is actually very... strange..." Mittelt grumbled slightly on other side. "No, strange is too light. He is not a vampire! There is no way in hell vampires like him should exist! And judging by his appearance and aura it's clear he is also a pureblood one, probably an elder in fact! But his act is nothing like a vampire's!" She almost screamed while kicking the ground like a child and I couldn't help but chuckle.

"You have met vampires before, Mittelt-chan?" Asia asked with curiosity in her tone.

"Huh? Yeah, I met a few. They were purebloods and let me tell you, they are very, very arrogant. Even though they know they are not the strongest faction, the stick that was shoved up their asses is quite big." Mittelt answered while nodding as if just speaking gospel.

"S-Stick u-up their ass?" Asia squeaked with a small blush on her face.

"Mittelt, please use more common and normal words and refrain from using the vulgar ones." I chided while scowling at her, really, Asia shouldn't learn such words.

Mittelt had the decency to look sheepish after hearing that. She puffed her cheeks and mumbled an apology. "What I mean is that they are very arrogant Asia, their arrogance and confidence... If made a scale from 1 to 10, it would be a 7! And the elders would be an 8!"

Well, if she put it that way it as quite a bit. I somewhat expected it though, strangely I could accept that fact very well

"And that old Vampire! He acts nothing like a noble or arrogant! He is... He is..." Mittelt paused and scowled, she looked like she was trying to find the words and she apparently found them as she threw her hands backwards in exasperation. "He's a Troll!"

Ah, yes. I could understand and sympathize with her if she said that. Clearly, Troll was the best word to describe what Zelretch was.

"Troll?" Asia asked. "Like the ones that live in caves in the North?"

"No, no. That's a real troll, the Troll that Mittelt means is someone who makes a deliberately offensive or provocative online posting with the aim of upsetting someone or eliciting an angry response from them." I explained to her.

"But Zelretch-san is a nice old man." Asia said with a disagreeing tone and I only sighed while Mittelt snorted.

Say that when you see how he treats me, especially the look he gives me when he notices I'm upset...

Oh I really wished to smash his face with Mjölnir if I had the hammer, sadly it was still locked in the Gate of Babylon and I still couldn't touch it, not until I activated Gilgamesh's form.

"Enough about that old man!" Mittelt said, scowling slightly. "Where are we going anyway? And what did you bring?" She asked while pointing to the bag in my right hand.

Currently me, Mittelt, and Asia were in the city. We are walking together to search for a certain someone. Now, I could find this person alone if I wanted to but there was one problem with that...

"We are going to find Koneko Toujou. This is a cake that I made as an apology." I answered.

"The devil Neko you talked about?" Mittelt asked with furrowed eyebrows. "Why are you going to apologize to her?"

"Let's just say I went overboard when I was scaring them. And I really mean it, the overboard I am talking about was like filling the bucket by thrusting it into a waterfall."

After Mittelt heard this, her eyes widened and a grimace appeared on her face. It seemed she realized that I wasn't the typical 'good guy' who was always kind. I wouldn't hesitate to use cruelty, when she became my prisoner was an example of that. I did almost ram a sword through her face when she greeted me in a bad manner the first time.

"Issei-san... w-was it really that bad?" Asia asked me with disbelief. She was the other way, she never saw my cruel side. All she knew was that I had killed to save her, and while she disapproved of it, she reluctantly accept it if it was the right thing and necessary sometimes.

"You don't have any idea." I replied simply while sighing as I recalled Koneko's horrified look.

"Why don't you just go meet her by yourself?" Mittelt pointed out to me.

"Because she is always dodging me. And I mean it, I was 5 kilometers away from her when I was approaching her, and when I got close to a hundred meters, she turned around and ran away like a cat seeing a dragon!" I explained and it was true, I always tracked her with my eyes, but the moment I came near her, she escaped. It seemed she had sharper senses than I thought.

Then why not visit Rias?

I still had problems with her. What? Don't give me that look! That girl tried to manipulate my life and turn me into a slave! She might have acted out of desperation but that didn't give her the right to play with people's lives! I would apologize if she did it first!

Okay, I had to admit, maybe I was a jerk. But at least I couldn't confront her, not when she still had her problem. I was sure Rias also agreed that meeting each other would leave a bad taste and only going to give her an empty hope, not to mention I was supposed to be her last 'hope' since she tried to recruit me for the Rating Game but failed.

However, meeting her peerage was another thing, especially Koneko who looked like a little child and was cute! And I always had a soft spot for cute things.

"Found her!" I muttered as my Clairvoyance ability managed to catch a glimpse of Koneko, who was buying a cake, from afar. "Asia, would you like to go and call her? I think she would run if she sensed me."

Asia happily obliged and started to ask for the directions. I showed her and told her try to persuade her if she didn't want to. Asia was a nice girl, so if I sent her there was high chance Koneko would accept it.

After Asia left, Mittelt and I sat on a nearby bench in the park that we had found. The blonde fallen angel stared at me for a moment and I couldn't help but ask.

"What?"

"Your hair... Is it just me or did the white hairs on your head increase?" She asked and I blinked.

Ah, yes. If I recalled correctly, Zelretch said something about my hair turning white due to Tracing. The more intense and stronger I strained myself when Tracing the faster my hair would turn white. And no, my skin wouldn't become tan and my hair would still be brown originally. This only turned my hair white, it didn't make the hair that would grow be white.

Naturally I didn't have any problem with that, I didn't care about my looks too much, though I had to say that having white hair could be cool and ugly at the same time.

"Aftereffects of training with that vampire." I said and I didn't lie, it was a half-truth at least. Mittelt stared at me blankly as if I just said something stupid but hey! What I said was true! Half true technically, but still!

"Seriously? That bad?" She asked.

"You see me getting healed by Asia every time I'm done. How bad do you think it is?" I asked back with sarcasm and she blushed slightly while putting on a sheepish face.

"Well you didn't need to be so sarcastic about it." She glared at me, but the glare only looked like a cute puppy rather than a large tiger in my eyes.

"You know that won't make me afraid, instead it will tempt me to glomp you." I stated with a smirk.

Mittelt stared at me for a second before her face turned red like it was on fire "W-W-W-Wha?! D-Don't say such things out of blue you moron!" She squeaked, looking embarrassed.

Oi, oi what was with that cute reaction?! Was this what people called a Tsundere moment?

I only let out chuckle of amusement and the fallen angel huffed while turning around, her face still red and avoiding my gaze. She only mumbled something under her breath about 'Rock brained dragons' and 'Stupid Issei'.

Really, a classing tsundere? I would never understand women.

After that there was nothing to talk about between us. Mittelt was busy playing with her mobile phone while humming cutely. I didn't know what she was doing with her phone, but she started to play with it more after she built a... rivalry with Shizune I guess.

But whatever she checked on her phone, I really didn't want to know. Last time when I tried to eavesdrop I heard her speak the words 'Onii-chan' or 'Onii-sama' in a very intimate manner. But it mostly failed, seeing how she always stuttered and stammered for some strange reason.

For the sake of the part of my sanity that was still intact I decided to dismiss that and pretend I never heard anything.

It wasn't long before my eyes caught Koneko and Asia. When the white haired devil saw me, her whole body tensed. I could tell she trembled slightly and was trying to run away.

But there was a problem - Asia was holding her hand while dragging her to me.

Good job Asia!

"Issei-san! I brought Koneko-san." Asia said as she saw me.

"Ah, good. Thank you Asia." I replied in a grateful tone and the blonde girl beamed. I then turned to Koneko, who tensed when I flashed her a smile. "Hello Koneko, may I call you that?" She nodded and my smile widened a little "Hello Koneko, it's nice to meet you again."

Koneko only nodded. Her face might have been blank, but I could see the small tremble of her body and the sweat on her forehead.

I only sighed inwardly. Well it wasn't a surprise seeing her like this. Could you imagine if you were in her position? If you stood in front of a dragon that had threatened to eat you during your first meeting with him, wouldn't you be afraid too?

"Koneko, relax." I said with my most gentle tone, and while the effect was not visible, I could tell that she did relax a little. "I'm not going to hurt or eat you, so you don't need to fear me. In fact it's the opposite." I told her and her eyes showed confusion for a moment. "I came to... apologize..."

Her shock was clearly visible as I could see her eyes widen, a surprised expression also on her face.

"What I did during our first meeting... was too much, I guess." I continued while still keeping my gaze on her and putting on a sheepish face. "That's why I wish to apologize to you."

There was a moment of silence as Koneko stared at me with confused eyes. I could tell she swallowed a lump in her throat before speaking.

"I... don't understand..." Her voice was filled with confusion. "Why don't you talk with Buchou? Surely it would be easier?"

"Because she doesn't deserve it." I said with a firm face. "She tried to manipulate and bind me as her slave, and no matter how kind she was going to treat me if I became her slave, it would still be slavery and manipulation. My nature as host of the Welsh Dragon won't allow that. If I had found out that I was manipulated, Master or not, Ddraig would have been angry." I stated and Koneko eyes widened in slight horror at the mention of Ddraig's anger.

It was true, Ddraig was a very prideful dragon. If I died and became Rias's servant, and then found out we had been manipulated it wouldn't have been pretty. I had barely been able to restrain Ddraig's aura of pure hatred that had been aimed toward Rias for her blatant disrespect and trying to play innocent that time. True, he coudn't hurt anyone but having to suppress his angry aura would be very annoying, and still traumatizing for the targets. I didn't think even Rias could stand near me if that had happened.

"I would die... I'm sure of that, but Rias Gremory would die with me. I can assure you of that." I said firmly, even in a berserk state I should be able to target Rias Gremory easily, even if I entered Juggernaut Drive.

"Then why?" Koneko asked again, obviously confused. Why was I apologizing to her but not her master?

"Because I treated you like her." I said softly. "When I entered that room I saw everyone as Rias Gremory, as a devil who tried to manipulate my life. And when I saw your horrified look..." I closed my eyes and paused as Koneko's horror flashed through my mind "I only feel regret about that... I was quite naïve back there. I admit that and what I did to you was wrong."

Koneko stared at me with a blank face, all her fear seemed gone. True, she was still wary, I could tell that, but she was mostly confused now.

"There are also Akeno-fukubuchou and Kiba... Why me?" She asked again.

"Akeno-san, for some strange reason, gives me a vibe that is similar to Rias Gremory." I said and then shook my head. "I don't like her... The aura she radiated seemed viler and darker than Rias's. I'm not talking about strength but the nature of her presence.." It was true, Akeno Himejima's aura was stranger than that of Rias or Sona. It was dark like a devil's, but the corruption it possessed was bigger than that of those two.

It was probable because she was a mixture of a fallen angel and a devil. Yes, I was aware of her nature, it was not because I could sense her but because I could put two and two together. The only aura that surpassed a devil's in terms of corruption was a fallen angel's. They fell from Heaven due to being corrupted by Sin. You think it was absurd? How could a fallen angel be more corrupt than a devil? Simple.

The brighter the light shines, the darker it is when it turns black.

"As for Kiba... That man doesn't get scared as easily as you." I stated. "No offense for that, it's because of your status as a Nekomata." Koneko's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh don't be surprised, Ddraig could sense you were Youkai and quite adept at Senjutsu." Here I grimaced as I realized she must have seen something worse than Rias and everyone, but surprisingly I saw her also blanch. "And for that I apologize deeply to you." I said in a s incere tone and bowed my head slightly.

Koneko was quiet when she was heard that. I could see that despite her blank face she was actually troubled and didn't know what to say. I didn't blame her, I would also show the same expression if I were in her position.

"I also brought a cake I made as apology." I tried to bribe her and she perked up at that.

"Cake?"

"Yep! I made it by myself, don't worry it's not poisoned. I swear on the name of Ddraig and my status as Sekiryuutei." I declared firmly and extended the box to her.

Koneko stared at the box intently, her golden eyes fixated on the box as if it was some kind of prey. Slowly she took the box from me and opened it to reveal the food I made, fork and spoon already in there.

"You must know Cat-girl." Mittelt spoke for the first time since Koneko arrived. "Issei is very good at cooking, trust me, you won't regret it."

"Mittelt-chan is right Koneko-san, Issei-san's cooking is great." Asia supported me and I puffed my chest slightly.

I got all EMIYA's skills, memories and experience, including his cooking skills. And let me tell you, that guy was able to make five star hotel food look like regular stuff! So I not only trained in Tracing but I also honed my cooking skills! Seriously, if the Holy Grail War in his world had been about cooking, I think even Gilgamesh would have knelt in front of him!

And while I was still nowhere near EMIYA's level in cooking, thanks to his memories and experience I was able to catch up quite fast! It was almost like you got a Rare Candy in a Pokemon Game! Instant level-up!

Koneko seemed convinced after hearing Asia as she stared at the white cake she held. She took a spoonful of cake and popped it into her mouth before her eyes widened.

"mmmmMMMMM!"

Koneko eyes scrunched closed, her lips curled upward and formed a pleasant smile. She then moaned cutely, and to be honest, that moan sounded like she just had an orgasm! That dreamy look of hers was also not helping!

I held back the blush that threatened to come out, that moan clearly... It w as quite hot if you asked me. What? I was man! A Teenager even! I had hormones that were still raging!

Asia meanwhile openly blushed upon hearing Koneko moan and Mittelt let out Cheshire cat grin, yes a Cheshire cat grin. The grin that stretched from ear to ear, and even I thought it looked more than a little creepy.

Koneko meanwhile ignored us, she seemed to be still in her own world. I swore for a moment I could see cat ears pop out from her head along with a tail that was wagging around happily, but clearly it was only my imagination.

Koneko, after swallowing the bite down, stared at the rest of the cake with sparkles in her eyes, as if that cake was a sacred food. She slowly lifted her head up to me and there was no more sign of fear in there but a firm and demanding look.

"Do you have more?" She asked me.

"I'll have to make it first, finish that one if you want another." I said with a chuckle, really this girl was cute! Her blank face strangely suited her. Ahh, she was one of those Kuudere types, wasn't she? That was rare, to think I would meet one now.

"Done..."

I blinked when she said that and looked into the box, making my jaw hit the ground. It was empty! It was empty! The cake! Where was it?! Where was the cake?!

"W-What the hell..." I muttered with wide eyes and shock. "W-Where is the cake?" I asked Koneko immediately.

"Ate it." Koneko said while wiping her mouth with a tissue.

"Koneko..." I called, my tone solemn and my face grim. "Koneko, the cake had a diameter of 20cm. How in name of Satan, Odin, God, Zeus and Ophis did you eat it THAT fast!" I shouted upon reaching the last part, seriously how the hell she was able to finish the cake that fast?!

"I ate it." Koneko repeated, her face and tone remained the same, as if she was talking with a dull minded child.

"That's not an answer!" I snapped. "You! You!" I closed my mouth before smacking my face with my palm really hard. I slowly let out a heavy sigh and shook my head. "You know what? For the sake of my sanity, let's pretend we never had this conversation." I said to her with a serious tone and Koneko only tilted her head to one side while still having a blank face.

"Okay." She said dully before she held one hand out expectantly. "More cake?"

"More cake." I nodded solemnly as if just receiving gospel. "Let's go to my house."

As we began to walk, I was sure as hell going to give a lesson to Mittelt who was cackling at my condition. Despite her innocent and cute appearance I was once again reminded that she was a fallen angel.

But now that I saw it, I was practically walking with a devil, fallen angel and a nun. And not just that, the three of them were talking, giggling - save for Koneko who stared blankly at Mittelt – and making conversation as if they were high school girls.

To think I would see the day where a human that praised God, a devil and a fallen angel made conversation like this... It was a miracle actually, granted, the nun was exiled originally but she was a devoted follower of God, the Devil might be a reincarnated one, but she had been devil for years, and the fallen angel might also only be a hybrid, but she had also spent time with a group of fallen angels and I was sure the group was not a good one.

And yet, here the three of them were, talking and conversing like they were friends.

[And here you are, a human who did not take the side of any faction, but you brought them together.] Ddraig commented.

I did?

[Of course, fufufu... This is a really unusual development, boy. That vampire was right, you are interesting.]

What? You talk with that vampire? Now, if I recall correctly, you told me to believe in him when I first met him. Did you met him somewhere before?

[That is for me to know boy, now off you go. I'm in middle of something important.]

What kind of important stuff can you do inside a gauntlet that only covers half of my arm?!

Ddraig didn't reply, much to my annoyance. Oh well, I was not one to pry, he was inside me, so sooner or later he would tell me.

For now, seeing I had already arrived at Mittelt and Asia's place, it'd better if I began to work again. Damn! I couldn't believe I said this, but cooking was more fun than school!

-----------------------------------------

Next day

Today was Sunday and thus no school. But this morning you could find me and Asia walking in Kuoh Academy's corridors, on our way to the Student Council Office. And before you asked, no, Asia was not a student here, the girl already got home schooled when she was in the Church and I also helped her when we had free time.

But even though the school was off, I got called by Sona to come to the Student Council Office. She said someone wished to meet me and Asia.

I was already wearing my high collared black leather jacket that was unzipped, and underneath it were my black armor and outfit that was like the one that EMIYA used to wear. I also wore black leather fingerless gloves used for archery.

Asia on my side was wearing her usual nun outfit. I didn't know why but it seemed she quite liked that outfit, probably because it made her feel comfortable and since we were going to meet someone with ties to the devils it was better if we showed them that Asia was actually a Nun.

I wonder who it was. Could it be one of Maou or someone on the higher end of the devil ranks? Hmm, that was possible actually but if that was the case, shouldn't Rias also be there?

But she was not, if I recalled correctly Koneko said that she and Rias would go somewhere for three weeks. I assumed she went training for the Rating Game in three weeks. That was quite a lot of time but still, did that mean she found a new peerage member already?

Though I was sure that even without Rias, Sona alone was enough to welcome a higher ranked devil. But what about Asia? Why did she have to be here? Who wished to meet her?

People from the Church, coming to exorcist her? Oh yeah, I wanted to see them try, I really did. I would visit Italy by myself and unleash Juggernaut Drive in middle of the Vatican if they dared to take Asia.

"Issei-san?" Asia called me and snapped me out of my mind. "Is this the office?" She pointed at the door that had 'Student Council Office' written on it and I nodded.

"Yeah, let's go in." I told her and we knocked on the door.

Not long afterwards the door opened and revealed Tsubaki Shinra, Sona's Queen.

"Ah, Hyoudou-san, you are already here. You also brought Argento-san, please come in." She opened the door fully and made a gesture with her hand. We nodded and Asia flashed a smile to her in greeting, to which she replied in kind. Then we entered the office.

As we entered the office, my eyes immediately searced for the foreign figure and I found it instantly. Sona was sitting on a sofa and on the opposite of her side was a young man, probably around my and Sona's age. He had dark hair and wore expensive looking clothing.

Devil

Another devil...

I could smell and taste the aura he radiated, along with the magical energy he possessed. He was a devil... And seeing his appearance it was clear he was also a high-class and pureblood devil.

I could understand if he wanted to meet me, maybe he was one of ambassadors that was chosen, but why did he want to meet Asia? Yes, he wanted to meet Asia, he didn't want to meet me. I was simply meant to escort Asia.

How did I know this while Sona didn't inform me about that?

Because the moment I looked at him he didn't look at me, he looked behind me, someone behind me, he looked at Asia the moment we entered.

And that look... I didn't like that look...

"Ah, Hyoudou-kun you have arrived." Sona greeted me as Asia and I walked forward, standing in front of her and that devil. "This is someone who wished to meet you..." She made gesture with her hand.

"I can introduce myself from here, thank you Sitri-san." He said politely and Sona nodded, her face stoic. The male devil stood up, his eyes closed as he put on a smile.

"Asia Argento…We finally meet." He spoke in a delicate and gentle tone.

"E-Eh?" Asia show a bewildered look, she was clearly confused by what he had said.

The black haired devil's smile dimmed a bit, as if he was disappointed. "So you've forgotten me. We met that time." He spoke in bitter tone and suddenly revealed his chest and showed a big scar there. It was a deep scar. Asia eyes opened wide when she saw that while mine narrowed.

This guy...

"That wound, could it be…" Asia gasped out softly.

"Yes, my face couldn't be seen back then, but I am the devil from that time."

There was no doubt, seeing Asia's speechless reaction now and his words confirmed my guess. This guy was the devil that had been healed by Asia, this... creature. This creature was the source of Asia's misery.

"My name is Diodora Astaroth, the heir of the Astaroth clan. And I'm the devil that was saved thanks to your Sacred Gear." He said with a gentleman's smile. He then took Asia's hand and kissed it in a prince like manner "Asia, I came to meet you. I've been looking for you ever since your exile so I could thank you properly. Asia, I want you to be my wife. I love you."

Dozens of Black Keys immediately formed in my mind, ready to slice this thing into pieces.